Jürgen Mayer H. Wins Humboldt Forum Art Competition with Bronze Arrow Installation

The architecture firm Jürgen Mayer H. has won the eighth Kunst-am-Bau competition for Berlin's Humboldt Forum with a bronze arrow installation titled "Südpfeil." The 3.60-meter-long, 85-kilogram arrow pierces the building's facade at approximately 18 meters height. Architects Jürgen Mayer H. and Hans Schneider explained their research-driven approach, which considered the building's controversial history and political discussions. The title references global power hierarchies and the Global South, while also connecting to historical evidence of bird migration routes discovered through arrows found in storks around 1822 near Rostock. Some critics view the work as too reconciliatory for an institution accused of insufficient colonial reflection, but the architects describe it as architectural acupuncture. The firm, based in Berlin since the 1990s despite its international projects like Metropol Parasol in Sevilla, sees the arrow as questioning Germany's constrained architectural culture. Their work spans art, architecture, and design contexts, with buildings functioning as sculptures that activate public space. The interview also touches on their critique of contemporary "beige" architecture and experimentation with new materials like smart materials and novel timber constructions.